my youngest turned five on saturday.
each year we move a little farther away from baby days and toddler hood.
on one hand i feel a bit sad and nostalgic about it all... but on the another hand i am ever so ready and excited for what's to come next.
my little ollie jane absolutely adores monkeys.
she also adores our hand painted peg doll family made by the amazing summer. so i asked summer to make a monkey family for her. not only did she make an incredible monkey family, but she included some very special extras.
the sweet stuffy above she said has been looking for someone to love him, and my ollie loves him so very much. i just love that adorable face.
the monkey family is even better than i thought it would be... i am so impressed with her creativity and attention to detail.
and this extra is so very special...
it is jane goodall and her little chimpanzee friends.
i must admit... i knew very little about jane goodall. i also knew that ollie knew very little about her and would not fully appreciate this gift without a little more knowledge. so i ordered some books on jane to go with the pegs. oh. my. goodness. first of all, what an incredible woman, and secondly, there are so many wonderful similarities to my own little "jane". what fun we have had learning about her and her adventures. thank you so much summer for all the wonderful things you brought into my little ollie's life on her birthday!
above are some very sweet handmades by her older sisters. those two are so creative and thoughtful. i was not home to help them sew their creations together, so they stapled them. i personally think this was absolutely brilliant on their part.
five years old... such a wonderful age.
Summer is so talented. Happiest of days to her, and happy birthing day to you. So hard to watch them grow up, but such a joy too. Hope she has a wonderful year ahead.
ReplyDeletehappy birthday! i love this post, jane goodall is one of my biggest heroes.
ReplyDeleteSo incredibly sweet. My girl did a report last year on Jane Goodall too :) I hope things are slowing down a bit for you. Thanks for your thoughtful comment the other day, I really appreciated it. Happy Birthday to your little girl!
ReplyDeletethank you ladies! :)
ReplyDeleteoh my goodness what sweetness! happy birthday to your baby girl~ (and to you!)
ReplyDeleteI was lucky to see Jane Goodall speak at our student center once when I was in college- it was incredible, and she started with a very loud and enthusiastic chimpanzee call!
xoxo
oh my goodness!! that is incredible :)
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